Newly elected Ann Marie Buerkle wants role in GOP effort to repeal health care law

View full sizeMichelle Gabel / The Post-StandardAnn Marie Buerkle (center), the new 25th Congressional District representative, waves to a well-wisher in Columbus Circle in this photo from Nov. 24, 2010. In front of Buerkle are Dewey Reinhardt (left), of Camillus, who stopped to congratulate the congresswoman and Buerkle spokesperson Liza Lowery (right).

Washington, D.C. -- When the 112th Congress convenes today, Rep.-elect Ann Marie Buerkle says she will waste no time trying to deliver on campaign promises that gave Republicans control of the House.

First up on Buerkle’s agenda: a full repeal of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law.

Even before taking her oath of office today, Buerkle began working with GOP colleagues on a strategy to achieve their goal. Republican leaders say a vote to repeal the landmark health care law is among their top priorities, and could happen as early as Jan. 12.

The vote may be largely symbolic because the Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely to support repeal, nor would Obama sign the bill. But Republicans are pursuing a strategy that could, at the very least, change or repeal sections of the law.

Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, a former nurse and health care lawyer, said she wants to play a prominent role in that process. She will sit on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, a panel with the power to subpoena government officials.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the committee chairman, said he will launch six major investigations in the first quarter, including probes into the financial crisis, government regulations and corruption in Afghanistan. Buerkle met privately with Issa Monday to introduce herself and discuss strategy.

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John Buttarazzi, Buerkle’s newly appointed chief of staff, said the committee could investigate and hold hearings about the existing health care legislation’s impact on businesses and the economy. “I expect those hearings will generate recommendations for fixes to the bill, and sections to repeal or defund the legislation,” Buttarazzi said.

Issa did not spell out Buerkle’s specific role in the process, nor has the chairman made subcommittee assignments. “All of that is still under discussion,” Buttarazzi said Tuesday. “She had a very productive meeting with the chairman yesterday. They had a very frank and productive discussion talking about her knowledge and experience with the issues.”

Issa, who has called President Obama’s administration “one of the most corrupt” in U.S. history, has pledged to find up to $200 billion in savings for taxpayers by exposing and eliminating waste in the federal bureaucracy.

Buerkle shares similar views. “Her priorities are pretty straightforward,” Buttarazzi said. “She ran on a platform of limited government and economic growth.”

Before the House can get to work, however, Buerkle and the 242-member Republican majority must be sworn into office today. Buerkle will be among 87 incoming Republican members. All told, the 435-member House will have 96 new members.

Buerkle will be allowed to take one guest to sit by her side as she takes the oath on the House floor — 10-year-old Mary Y. Buttarazzi, the daughter of her new chief of staff.

John Buttarazzi, 49, of Great Falls, Va., is an Auburn native like Buerkle. He is the oldest of 14 children of Dr. Patrick and Alice Buttarazzi. He has spent his career working outside of Central New York, including a stint as former Gov. George Pataki’s point man in an effort to privatize state assets.

Also expected to join Buerkle later in the afternoon at a ceremonial swearing-in with new House Speaker John Boehner will be her 89-year-old mother, Sadie.

Buerkle, who will become the first woman to represent the Syracuse area in Congress, spent most of Monday and Tuesday in briefings and meetings with her new colleagues. She cast her first votes in the Republican Conference during meetings Tuesday in which GOP House members agreed on the rules that will govern the 112th Congress.

Among the proposed rules is a requirement, favored by Buerkle as well as tea party activists, for all bills to be posted online for 72 hours before a vote. The full House will vote on the package today.

Buerkle will also pick up her voting card and congressional lapel pin today — two essential elements for any member of Congress. The pin allows members to bypass security at the U.S. Capitol and gain access to the House floor. Each pin is numbered to show a member’s rank in seniority.

Before the House convenes at noon, Buerkle will join other members for a traditional bipartisan prayer service at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill.